Terrors of the Night
This article, , is a filler chapter attached to Bleach: Cataclysm, with a loose connection to the overall canon. It features Kentaro Hiroshi as the POV character and his sister, Kay Hiroshi, as main support. In terms of story-line placement it occurs following the opening arc of Bleach: Cataclysm and finishes before the start of the second. ---- Kentaro's hands where tied. He was stretched thin trying to deal with the Imawashi threat, Ryan poking his noble-nose into everything, and Kaede trying to lord over every corner of the Reikai. That was why he had to deal with this matter personally; everyone else was too busy, apparently. This was going to be a chore. “What's the matter, brother?” Oh, yeah. He'd almost forgotten. Not everyone was busy. Kay, his little sister, had happily agreed to go with him. In a way he was happy – he was so busy at times he barely got to spend time with her – but at the same time he was furious! He didn't save her during the Collapse so she'd blindly throw herself into danger now. “I was lost in thought. Don't worry about it.” “Okay!” She ran ahead of him. Her chestnut-brown hair framed her cheeks neatly as her fringe hung to obscure some of her same-shade eyes. Unlike Kentaro, whose black coat was pulled closely around his frame to guard against the chill, Kay wore a pink jumper with a black shirt underneath, and a pair of denim jeans. It was a big change from what she used to wear. In the past Kay wouldn't have been caught dead outside a sleeveless white shirt, a brown blazer, and a brown short-skirt. She didn't even wear the red ribbon around her neck anymore. “Hey, you never told me what we're actually looking for.” Kay said at last. “C'mon, spill it!” “Did I not?” He lied. “Whatever. Quick answer is I don't know what we're after. All Hawke knows is that his patrol turned up three Humans drained of their blood, lying in the gutter. He found them by mistake hunting for something else.” “A vampire!?” Kay exclaimed in excitement. “That is so cool!” Why had he taken her again? He'd forgotten how excitable she was. She was practically bouncing in place, her bust bouncing very freely. He reprimanded her for it though he might as well not have said anything, for she spun in place and ran up the big hill, excitedly declaring that she was looking for more clues. It was so like her to ignore him. Darkness had already fallen and the moon was full in the sky. The stars filled the mostly clear sky like a multitude of shining gems in an ocean of black. The sight caused Kentaro to stop abruptly. The few clouds he could see where nowhere near the full moon. “Beautiful night.” He whispered, in awestruck tones. “To bad I'm babysitting though.” He ran to the top of the hill but Kay was nowhere to be seen. He beat down a spike of panic and reached out with his senses, carefully looking for her spiritual signature. Nothing. His panic grew again unbidden. Then it struck him. He couldn't sense anything in his immediate vicinity. His senses weren't being warped or suppressed; his sense for spiritual power was being actively blocked! He bent his knees and assumed a low ready-stance, his right hand resting very lightly on the hilt of his Zanpakuto. “How didn't I notice it before?” He asked furiously, feeling a sense of foreboding. “Where are you?” But it wasn't Kay to whom he was referring. Something about this area of Grat felt wrong to Kentaro. Grat was long considered a rich plot of land for spiritual activity but it had lessened considerably following the Collapse, to the point very few of the inhabitants had spiritual abilities at all anymore. Even fewer had the potential to see spirits fully, most seeing only a faint outline now. It didn't make sense that Humans would turn up dead here by spiritual means, especially with Hawke and David protecting it so fervently. “Envelop, Tenchikaimei.” Kentaro was briefly enveloped in an expanding aura of darkness which suffused his limbs and spread to the floor beneath his feet, connecting to the darkness of the night. Suddenly his senses returned but not in the traditional sense. He sensed things through the dark vibes all around and one vibe in particular stood out, drawing his sense. Kentaro “fell into” the darkness and reappeared in-time to kick a shadowy figure in the head! It skidded back away from Kay, who it had been holding aloft by the throat, who fell to the floor coughing and spluttering. “... Thanks... It came out of nowhere!” “We'll discuss it later.” Kentaro said, not unkindly. “Are you alright?” “Yes. Nothing permanent.” By the time he turned his full attention towards Kay's attacker it had vanished but using Tenchikaimei to find it again was a cinch, and Kentaro sped off through the shadows of the night to appear behind it. He grasped the back of its uniform and hurled it onto the floor below. Despite the fact he and Kay where operating under the effects of a limiter he was still strong enough to crack the concrete below! “What is it?” Kay asked, confused and, he noted, a little frightened. When it sprang to its feet again to attack Kay's fear was overridden by instinct long ago drilled into her by Kenji and Rosuto, for she reacted by sweeping low at its feet, knocking it down. Unbalanced she then struck it between its red eyes! Her fist briefly crackled with electricity and the creature, crying in pain, finally fell silent upon the floor. But that proved to be another ruse. The creature leapt up to lunge at her again and Kentaro, despite moving to intercept, found he didn't need to. The lights along the street where shorted out as Kay exerted her reiatsu. She grasped the creature by the head with only arm and proceeded to clam him hard into the ground and this time he lay still. “I don't know.” Kentaro responded to the asked question, with a bent head. He pinned it the floor however with Kido to hold it down so there wouldn't be any more surprises. “Let's have a closer look.” Kay remarked. She lit the street up with Kido and shone it towards the figure, drawing a surprised gasp from Kay, and a raised eyebrow from Kentaro. The creature was male and looked almost identical to Kentaro sixteen years ago! The only exceptions were a scar running through his left eye, a black tattoo that ran over the bridge of his small, pointed nose, and distinctly visible canines. He wore the same high-necked short-sleeved grey top Kentaro once favoured alongside black hakama and sandals, and had a slim sword strapped to his back. “Well... this is uncanny.” Kentaro remarked. “Indeed.” Kay answered. “Do you know what he is?” Despite being bound the creature tried to lunge forward. It was only then that Kentaro realized what for. Kay was bleeding slightly from a cut on her forearm, and the blood had dripped to the floor right in-front of the creature. That coincided with an abrupt increase in activity. It thrashed against the bonds that held it, until Kentaro thought that it would undo his Kido through sheer brute force! The screams where like the cries of the damned and its muscles and bones twisted and cracked in an unnatural manner. “Stand back!” Kentaro called. As soon as Kay did so Kentaro swiftly healed the injury on her arm, which caused the creature to visibly calm itself. He returned to a still figure in the darkness who moved infrequently, only to breath. “I'm putting this... thing... out of its misery.” Kentaro declared. He stabbed the poor thing through the head once quickly, despite Kay's insistence to study it more, and then withdrew the blade, cleaned it of blood, and then returned Tenchikaimei to its sealed state as he sheathed it. The motion rung of practice. “Come on.” He said. “Our mission is done.” “Uh... right!” Kay answered, looking back briefly. As they vanished however the creatures eyes rolled back around and they narrowed in hatred...